Introduction to Kabbalah and the Tree of Life.
Kabbalah, or QBLH as it is spelled in Hebrew, is a system of belief from the Jewish Mysticism tradition. It has been one of the most influential forces in the Western Mystery Tradition. It has a wide base of information and uses that range from mapping human consciousness to ritual magick. One of its main uses is to symbolically represent the link between the Godhead and humanity, which the student contemplates in order to traverse the path back to Eden. As may soon become apparent, this system is based within the framework of the Bible. To be more exact, the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) is where most of the influence has come from. As well as this, there are commentaries on the Bible and the Kabbalah itself, which have added to this system.
The root of the word Kabbalah is Kabel, QBL, meaning 'to receive'. This was used to form the word because its knowledge was originally oral-based, being passed down from teacher to student. Only those students who were worthy enough would receive the knowledge. Eventually the knowledge grew to the point where it was impossible for any individual or group to be able to retain and pass on, so it was dedicated to written word. This has allowed us to be able to access and use most of the system, while the deep insights are still kept to adepts within well-established Kabbalistic groups.
The central motif to the Kabbalah is the Tree of Life. It consists of ten spheres, called sephiroth, laid out in a geometric design. It has been called a symbolic representation of the creation of the universe, beginning at the top with the first 'something' and working its way down to the kingdom or earth. It could be considered to be what happened between 'In the beginning' and 'God created the heavens and Earth' of Genesis 1:1. Genesis 1:1 has been a very influential passage for Kabbalists because of this. The ten sephiroth are named- from the top- Kether (the Crown), Hockmah (The Father), Binah (The Mother), Hesed (Mercy), Geburah (Severity or Strength), Tipareth (Beauty), Netzakh (Victory), Hod (Splendor), Yesod (Foundation) and Malkuth (the Kingdom or Earth). As well as these, another has been developed, which is a non-sephiroth, called Da'ath (the Abyss). Although early Kabbalistic texts says that here are only ten sephiroth, this one has been added after many years of thought and is not actually though of as a sphere as the others are.
In the main, there are two groups of Kabbalists- one devoted to the conventional and dogmatic branch, and the other to the practical and wonder-working branch. There are very few groups of the latter, while of the former, there are many, with many great tomes of knowledge, too numerous to mention. Given that there has been so many years of work done with the Kabbalah, there are many approaches to the study within these branches.
The Kabbalah can be separated into four distinct divisions: Practical Kabbalah, which deals with Ritual and Talismans; Literal Kabbalah, which deals with what many people describe as the 'Bible code'; Unwritten Kabbalah, which is information so sacred that it is dare not written; and Dogmatic Kabbalah, which primarily deals with the Kabbalistic and Jewish Mystical texts. The first two of these formed the basis of most Mediaeval magick.